Publications

Research Summary

Research

The founding and expansion of new firms is central to innovation and economic growth, but the determinants of a new idea’s success are difficult to ascertain. The decision to form a new firm and its ultimate outcome are impacted by ownership structure, financing... View Details

30 Apr 2013
News

Building a Strong Foundation for American Manufacturing

10 Apr 2019
HBS Case

How Entrepreneurs Can Turn Lead Into Gold

Entrepreneurs aren’t short on ideas for exciting new products or companies, but they are often short-sighted when it comes to finding ways to fund and build those projects. “There is a huge amount of discussion about how you come up with... View Details

Keywords: by Michael Blanding; Financial Services

08 Feb 2000
Research & Ideas

Building Effective R&D Capabilities Abroad

relevant markets and existing corporate facilities. It also determined that the initial laboratory leader would have to be an experienced manager from Lilly's home base—a manager with a deep understanding of... View Details

Keywords: by Walter Kuemmerle

February 1980 (Revised April 1981)
Case

Poland Spring Bottling Corp.

By: Benson P. Shapiro

Poland Spring is a small domestic bottler of mineral water trying to compete in a rapidly expanding market against Perrier, the dominant brand, and 20 other foreign and domestic waters. Company management must decide how to position and promote its product with limited... View Details

Keywords: Product Marketing; Product Positioning; Competition; Globalized Markets and Industries; Food and Beverage Industry; Distribution Industry; United States

October 2009 (Revised June 2011)
Case

Zappos.com 2009: Clothing, Customer Service, and Company Culture

By: Frances X. Frei, Robin J. Ely and Laura Winig

On July 17, 2009, Zappos.com, a privately held online retailer of shoes, clothing, and other soft line retail categories, learned that Amazon.com, a $19 billion multinational online retailer, had won its board of directors' approval to offer to merge the two companies.... View Details

Keywords: Mergers and Acquisitions; Customer Focus and Relationships; Decision Choices and Conditions; Governing and Advisory Boards; Service Delivery; Organizational Culture; Internet and the Web; Valuation; Apparel and Accessories Industry; Retail Industry

27 Dec 2019
News

Harvard Business School study: Structural issues in politics are impeding economic growth

18 Oct 2010
News

Honorable Mention

2022
Working Paper

When the Journey—And Not Just the Destination—Matters: How Internationalization Shapes Entrepreneurial Experimentation

By: Nataliya Langburd Wright and Laura Huang

Internationalization—gaining exposure to cross-border markets—is often the result of an entrepreneur’s experimentation and strategy around their core business. Scholars have shown how entrepreneurs develop products or services, and after achieving some traction, turn... View Details

Keywords: Entrepreneurship And Strategy; Entrepreneurial Ventures; Entrepreneurial Journey; International Entrepreneurship; Entrepreneurship; Business Startups; Global Range; Strategy

November 1998 (Revised June 2001)
Case

Global Beer

Two young American entrepreneurs working in Japan have rapidly established an importing business to take advantage of new regulations permitting microbrewers and brewpubs. Options for further growth include an international brewpub franchise, alliances with Japanese... View Details

Keywords: Trade; Problems and Challenges; Business Startups; Globalized Markets and Industries; Food and Beverage Industry; Japan; United States

Find at Harvard

November 1996 (Revised December 1996)
Case

Rogers Communications, Inc.: The Wave

By: John A. Deighton, Karsten Voermann and Reginal Gilyard

Rogers Communications, Inc., Canada's largest cable television provider, is deciding how it should respond to developments that appear to portend the convergence of its industry with the computing and telecommunications industries. In particular, it is investigating... View Details

Keywords: Decisions; Innovation and Invention; Marketing Strategy; Market Entry and Exit; Internet and the Web; Mobile and Wireless Technology; Consumer Behavior; Technology Adoption; Telecommunications Industry; Canada

June 2002 (Revised April 2003)
Course Overview Note

Business Marketing: Course Overview Note for Instructors

By: Das Narayandas

Details the structure and execution of the Business Marketing course taught in the elective curriculum of the MBA program at HBS. View Details

Keywords: Marketing

October 2009
Case

Medisys Corp.: The IntensCare Product Development Team

By: Anne Donnellon and Joshua D. Margolis

Key topics include designing teams, managing teams, managing conflict, group dynamics, project management, product development, interdepartmental relations, and organizational change. MediSys, a U.S.-based medical equipment maker, has been developing IntensCare, a new... View Details

Keywords: Project Management; Interdepartmental Relations; Organizational Change; Leadership; Conflict Management; Interpersonal Communication; Groups and Teams; Product Design; Product Development; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Health Care and Treatment; Power and Influence; Medical Devices and Supplies Industry; United States

Video

Mostafa Terrab

Mostafa Terrab, Chairman and CEO of Morocco-based OCP Group, explains how investments into R&D led to the establishment of Mohammed VI Polytechnic University (UM6P) – now a leading university that focuses on research and innovation for the African continent. View Details

January 2019 (Revised October 2020)
Technical Note

Brand Storytelling

By: Jill Avery

Marketers have long appreciated the value and power of storytelling. Stories fill brands with resonant and relevant meaning and empower brands to serve as critical elements in the lives of consumers. Mastering the art of brand storytelling is an increasingly important... View Details

Keywords: Brand Communication; Brand Management; Brand Storytelling; Marketing; Marketing Communications; Brands and Branding; Marketing Strategy; Advertising; Consumer Behavior; Consumer Products Industry

Companies compete on the decisions they make. For years—even decades—in response to intensifying global competition, companies decided to outsource their manufacturing operations in order to reduce costs. But we are now seeing the alarming long-term effect of those... View Details

January 2025 (Revised March 2025)
Case

Gavi and the 'Next' Pandemic

By: Tarun Khanna and Kerry Herman

In 2025, CEO Dr. Sania Nishtar and her team consider the lessons the Global Alliance for Vaccine and Immunizations (GAVI) learned from the pandemic. GAVI successfully brought COVID-19 vaccines to large swaths of the undeveloped and under-developed world by pooling... View Details

Keywords: Developing Countries and Economies; Health Care and Treatment; Health Pandemics; Crisis Management; Success; Innovation and Invention; Service Delivery; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Strategic Planning; Pharmaceutical Industry; Africa

2024
Working Paper

Does the Case for Private Equity Still Hold?

By: Nori Gerardo Lietz and Philipp Chvanov

Private Equity (“PE”) received a 10-fold increase in capital flows since the Great Financial Crisis (“GFC”) Investors sought higher nominal returns relative to those they could obtain in the public capital markets. This paper questions the fundamental assumptions... View Details

Keywords: Private Equity; Investment Return; Investment Portfolio; Financial Markets